Brit learns she has ‘fight ’ during painful loss
EMMA Raducanu says a key lesson from her first Australian Open is that “I’ve got that fight in me” after the teenager adapted her game and gritted her teeth to play through pain with nasty blisters.
It wasn’t enough for the 19year-old US Open champion to stay in the hunt for a second grand slam title, falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic, but she said the experience was invaluable.
“I really enjoy playing the grand slams, I think that the takeaway is (it’s) tough,” the Brit said.
“I still think I can take some positives out of it. You know, I did discover elements of my game I didn’t know I had before, and I can use that going forward.
“And also, I just know that I’ve got that fight in me, even if I have got, like, one shot, I know that I can pull myself out of deep situations.”
The blisters on her right, racquet hand, had been getting progressively worse since her arrival in Australia, to the point where some on her team had urged her not to play.
But she was determined to keep going and skilfully changed tactics against Kovinic, demonstrating her tenacity and intelligence in terms of problem-solving.
Unable to grip the racquet properly to hammer forehands and backhands, she increasingly employed drops shots and slices to protect the injury, which proved effective in the second set until she tired in the third.
“I definitely think that the variety helps. I think that maybe some of the girls aren’t used to it,” she said.
“That was probably an element of surprise for my opponent who wasn’t expecting me to be doing that.
“It was pretty effective, so if I can mix that with my aggressive game style, I think that would be a really good and dangerous combination going forward.”